One Hell of a Job
by rapalacha
Summary: Being a CMO on a ship in the middle of a battle is bad enough. But having 2 friends prone to life-threatening injuries is another story. Missing scene from Star Trek: Into the Darkness where Kirk is (almost) dead, Spock gravely injured and Bones busy treating them. Kind of sick/fic. Spoilers, obviously. And they are not mine...obviously.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone,_

_This is what I missed in the movie. It has everything a good Trekkie longs for - emotionaly compromised Spock, caring Bones who actually saves the day again and Kirk in a lot of trouble. Maybe I should add a dying Readshirt...well, maybe next time. Till than, enjoy and live long and prosper._..

* * *

Spock watched as the medics transferred Khan's unresponsive body on one of the bio-beds in sickbay.

"Thank God you made it, Spock. It might be our only chance"

Spock turned his head and saw an exhausted and still a bit shocked face, that belonged to the ship's CMO.

"I do not understand, doctor. Why have you requested Khan to be brought here?" Spock asked and watched the doctor fiddle with the controls on one of the cryo-tubes.

"See that thing over there?" McCoy said as he swiftly moved to the bed now occupied by a very unfamous terrorist and started scaning his form with one hand while vaugely gesturing towards his table on the other side of the room. Spock followed his hand and realised there was a little fluffy tribble pouring on the table.

"It was dead. And now it's not. I don't know how, but this bastard's blood must have revived it. And I hope to do the same with Jim." the doctor continued and started to draw a first vial of blood from the unconscious man's veins.

"I see," Spock replied „but the capitan..."

"Yes, I know. Humans are slightly more complex beings than tribbles, yes, yes. I know it's a long shot. We'd be lucky if his brain won't fry and that's just a beginning.."

"But the capitan..." Spock tried again and yet agian was cut off.

"Yes, was compromised by radiation,which increased the tissue decomposition process and did a havoc with his nervous system. Tell me something I don't know. And that's why I did what I could to slow it down and protect what's left." McCoy gestured again, this time to the cryo-tube he'd been working on earlier.

This was when Spock realised there was a familiar face under the shield. Jim Kirk. And suddenly, it was too much. The battle, the victory, the fear of seeing his friend dying, the loss, the anger, the grief. He was not sure he could handle hope right now. His vision started to sway.

"We are trying to isolate a serum capable of regenerating Jim's cells. It may actually help that he was hurt by radiation exposure so we don't need to worry about his immune system response. And for love of God sit down before you fall down!"

The sickbay was melting into almost cubistic shapes and lights were dancing, Spock felt his knees get unsteady but he gripped on the nearest table and when he spoke, he sounded almost himself. He needed to get out quickly. Away from this all. He wanted to run, maybe jump out into the space if that would help this whole world to go away.

"It is clear you have the situation under control, doctor. My presence shall be required on the bridge. Inform me on the capitan's..."

"Like hell I am. You're not going anywhere but the bed down there. And don't make me use that powerfull CMO - order thing. You know I would!"

"I assure you, that I am..." Spock tried again but the good doctor wasn't buying it at all.

"All fine. Yeap. Heard that one before. And you ever heard of shock? Congratulation, than. You're just having a first hand experience. On top of all the other injuries from the fight with this beast. So now be a good little boy and let me take care of that. You did your part and I'd be gratefull forever, but now it's not the time for your usual vulcan stubbornness. Nurse!" he called out in one breath "I'm done drawing blood, get it to the separator. I want white blood cells, start with a plasmapheresis and we'll get it from there. Keep Khan on 100 ccs of Linatrin IV and have another 50 ready if he starts reagaining consiousness. And Mr. Spock here gets a free bed and a full standart work up. And I want 3D imaging standing by for those fractures."

McCoy's orders got everyone in the room moving like a well oiled machine. Everyone except Spock. A male nurse came to him and offered help but he waved him off. It was when he took a step from his temporarly table-support, when his knees finally gave up and he would have landed on the floor very ungraciously...But there was a firm, strong, but gentle grip holding him up.

"Easy there. You see now what I mean? You will be fine, but it'll take some work. My work that is. Your only job now is to breathe. In and out. Slowly. No rush. There you go.."

Spock didn't even realise he was hyperventilating. After he calmed a bit, McCoy led him, to a bed next to Jim's cryotube and helped him on it. He never stopped talking. Usually Spock found any constant rambling annoying, but the sound of the doctor's calm and confident voice seemed to do wonders with his nerves.

"Let's see what we have here." McCoy said and produced a medical tricorder and started scaning him.

Spock caught his hand.

"Leonard. Jim needs your attention much more than I do. Please, help him." There was a deep emotion in that statment and McCoy almost got overwhelmed as well. maybe the tough Vulcan wasn't so tough at all.

"Jim is good. There is nothing more I can do for him at this moment. And when he wakes up, he'll kill for not taking care of his favourite crewmember. So now tell me, what hurts the most?"

Spock thought about it for a moment. It was not clear wheather it was about accepting McCoy's logic or about the actual question, but finally, he answered.

"Chest. I have some difficulty breathing."

"Yeah. I can imagine. You have four broken ribs. You are lucky that with your super-human lungs you didn't get a pneumothorax. I am starting you on oxygen, that should help. I am also administering tri-ox and a pain reliever."

Spock more heard the hiss of a hypo than than he felt it sting on his neck.

"Unfortunately you were not that lucky all the time. There is a minor bleed in your abdomen. Piece of cake and I could fix it in my sleep, but you need a surgery. When you're done I am going to set your broken wrist and get you under dermal regenerator for those scratches."

Before he finished, his patient was already asleep. All the strain of the day finally taking its toll.

"Nurse, get him prepped in OR 1, I'll be there in 5."

Being the CMO on a ship in the middle of a battle was one thing. Injured crewmembers, chaos, even death. But being the doctor right now meant he could loose the battle for lives of his two dearest friends, his family. He stopped to see how Jim was and checked for progress with Khan's blood. He had 68 more minutes until the serum was ready to save Jim. Exactly the time he needed to save Spock. He would have smiled at the irony. But he needed the energy for a complicated surgery.


	2. Chapter 2

"Time, nurse?" McCoy asked never letting the surgical field out of his sight. His hands, the steadiest hands onboard, were working with absolute certainity, without hesitation.

"56.8 minutes, doctor." The nurse replied.

"Hmm..." McCoy mumbled, much more for himself, than anyone. This was good, at least as good as one could hope in this very bad situation. Spock was finally holding blood volume and there was no other hemmorage. He could finish on time to be there when the seperator machine will be done with Khan's blood.

"OK, everybody."he spoke again, this time to the whole surgical team."It's time to close. Give me number 5 reg probe." The instrument used instead of archaic stitches started to regenerate the opened wound and after only a few moments there was a fading, almost translucent scar reminding of the fresh surgical incision.

"Nice work, ladies and gentleman. How's the patient, doctor Fenders?"

"All stats are holding at reasonable levels, sir. BP 170 over 50, pulse 130. Saturation 88"

"Thank God for that. Move him to the post op, keep him sedated until I can get to setting those fractures. I still don't like that low pulse ox so have him on 3migs of tri-ox an hour IV and keep an eye on the progress. I'll be back when I am done with the capitan." and with this, he left the OR.

* * *

"Where are we, nurse Landers?" Leonard asked the moment he entered the lab part of the ship's sickbay suite.

"We're almost ready, sir. Just finishing the last part of protein separation. Do you want to run a simulation with the serum?" she asked.

Yes, he deffinitely wanted to, but there was no time. Jim was already out for too long. It had to be touch and go.

"No, just prepare it for an IV drip."

"Yes, sir." she said and went to fetch the equipment.

McCoy took a moment to stare at the vial of colourless compound waiting to be used. Such a small thing was supposed to do the imposible task of awakening his best friend from death? Yeah, he was a doctor a knew that even the tiniest virus could destroy whole worlds or species, but right now, he would be gratefull for some more spectacular solution. A giant resurrection machine, maybe...God he was tired.

"We are ready, sir." nurse Landers woke him up from his daydreaming.

McCoy rose from the chair he didn't even recognize sitting in until now and headed after his science-nurse.

"Than get him to the OR. We must place the live-support in." Leonard was not really a religious person, but if he ever felt the need to pray, it was now.

* * *

40 minutes later McCoy was ready to close once again. This time his gloves and gown weren't green, but red. It was a relief too see Jim's blood regainig that healthy arterial red colour which meant oxygen was once again getting into his tissues. Jim wasn't alive per se, but the machines did the job of circulation, breathing and heartbeating for him until he was ready.

"Moment of truth. Start the drip." he heard himself saying.

Suddenly the medical alert alarm went off and there was a voice over the comm.

"Doctor McCoy! It's , he's crashing." And Leonard ran.

Another 60 minutes later the exhausted CMO of starship Enterpraise watched both the senior commanding officers of the vessel lay side by side on the beds in his little hospital surrounded by incredible amount of machinery keeping constant watch on their bodily functions. One of the monitors sped up a bit and Spock's eyelids flickered. McCoy was at his side instantly. And gently lifted each eyelid to check for coronary reaction. Equal and reactive. Another small miracle.

"Come on, Spock. Wake up, sleepy head. Spock!"

"Jim..." Spock whispered.

It almost broke McCoy's heart.

"No, It's me, doctor McCoy."Leonard soothed quietly. „Jim is..."

„Capitan will be all right." Spock interrupted him and it wasn't a question.

"Yeah, hope so." he had to admitt it sounded a bit unsure. But who was he to argue. He needed some kind of reassurance himself, badly.

"It was a very...unexpected experience."

"If you say so. You crashed, God, you coded for 5 minutes. I honestly thought I was going to lose you..." too. He wanted to say Loose you too. But he could not say it out loud. Not yet.

"Fascinating. This should not be possible. And yet it happened."

"I don't understand." McCoy said but was already preparing a hypo sedative thinking Spock was still confused and needed some rest.

"I know Jim will be all right because I spoke to him."

"You what? You mean like a mind meld, or something?"

"No. This was much more...transcendental."

"Spock. Are you talking about clinical death experience here?" God this was getting creepy.

"Well, doctor, Jim taught me one thing in there. If there is a constant in this universe, it is that we always find the way to be with those we love. And acts we do out of such love shall never be lost."

With that Spock closed his eyes leaving a shamelessly crying friend at his side.

* * *

_Hi guys. Thanks for support. If you like I come back and fill in the "surreal" scene between Spock and Kirk. Or I just continue one more chapter in the plot as they are both recovering with the help of our lovely doc. Your choice really. Just let me know._


End file.
